Douluo: Starting Out by Confronting the Grandmaster

With his talent, if the system didn't provide some way to increase his potential, that would be rather unreasonable. If there was such a method, Lu Fei would definitely have to stay by his side.

If there wasn't.

Then they definitely couldn't go to Spirit Hall.

Otherwise, Tang San would hammer them to death sooner or later.

Su Yuntao gave Lu Yu a somewhat surprised look. This child gave him a feeling that he was—

Anything but ordinary.

However, he said nothing more. He simply explained things to Lu Fei, then had him stand aside for the moment and began awakening the Martial Souls of the other two children.

One had Blue Silver Grass, and the other had a Sickle. Both were standard useless Martial Souls, without a trace of Innate Soul Power.

Seeing that Lu Fei had Soul Power, they had held great expectations, but the contrast was simply too great. The two immediately burst into tears.

"Come on, it's your turn." Ignoring the two crying children, Su Yuntao turned his curious gaze toward Lu Yu.

Since this child was so unusual, perhaps he would have Soul Power as well.

Lu Yu stepped forward, and the awakening began.

As golden light enveloped him, Lu Yu consciously extended his right hand.

An unremarkable Eight-Faced Han Sword instantly condensed in his hand. Though it lacked any dazzling radiance, it still looked far stronger than Blue Silver Grass or a Sickle.

Su Yuntao's eyes lit up. Had spring finally come to Soulless Village? Would two Soul Master prospects emerge in a single day?

Over on the other side.

Lu Fei also looked over with envy.

He looked at Lu Yu's Eight-Faced Han Sword, then summoned his own Steamed Bun.

Sigh!

The more said, the more tears there were.

"Come, child. Let me see whether you have Soul Power." Su Yuntao said eagerly.

Lu Yu nodded calmly and placed both hands on the crystal ball.

Very soon, the light signifying Soul Power shone forth, and Su Yuntao's emotions surged along with it.

Level five. Another level five.

"Ding! Congratulations to the host on successfully awakening your Martial Soul. Mission complete. Reward: cultivation technique Heaven Origin Technique. Reward: Gold Soul Coin x100."

"Ding! A new mission has been issued. Please check it promptly."

Hearing the system notifications, Lu Yu immediately grew excited. However, Su Yuntao assumed his excitement was simply because he had Soul Power.

After all, he was just a child.

The System Was Still Reliable

Lu Yu hurriedly brought up the mission panel.

[Mission: Confront the Grandmaster]

[Mission Details: This system finds that hypocritical, self-righteous Grandmaster extremely irritating, so please have the host give him a proper verbal thrashing.]

[Mission Reward: Lingbo Microsteps]

Lu Yu froze.

This...

Seeing the mission, Lu Yu did not know whether to laugh or cry.

Grandmaster, Grandmaster, just how much resentment had you provoked? Even the system couldn't stand the sight of you. Then you could hardly blame me for this.

It seemed—

Spirit Hall was temporarily out of the question.

Damn... Lingbo Microsteps.

The instant he saw the reward, Lu Yu's eyes went wide.

That was Lingbo Microsteps, the strongest movement technique from Jin Yong's works. What Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track? It was simply weak beyond belief.

"Child, the test is over now. Can you tell me?" Su Yuntao interrupted Lu Yu's wandering thoughts.

"Uh..."

Lu Yu could not help feeling a little awkward, but he ultimately declined politely. "Thank you for your kindness, but we have no plans in that regard for the time being."

"Huh?"

Su Yuntao was instantly dumbfounded.

In his view, Spirit Hall should have been the best destination for commoner Soul Masters. He truly could not understand why Lu Yu would refuse.

Moreover, the other party had not even hesitated.

"Child, perhaps you don't understand this. For commoner Soul Masters, Spirit Hall is the best place to go. Only by joining Spirit Hall can you receive the best training."

Su Yuntao guessed that Lu Yu was still young and did not understand how hostile this world was toward commoner Soul Masters, so he wanted to make one last attempt.

"Thank you for your good intentions. Perhaps we will consider Spirit Hall in the future, but not now."

Lu Yu knew that Su Yuntao was speaking the truth, but that did not affect his decision. Who told him he had a system?

"Very well." Seeing how firm his attitude was, Su Yuntao could not say much more. Fortunately, Lu Yu's attitude had been rather mild.

Perhaps there would be a chance in the future.

Still, it was a pity. The performance credit that had practically been in his grasp had just flown away.

"Grandmaster, thank you for your hard work."

When the group emerged from Spirit Hall, the village chief immediately came forward to offer his thanks. As for whether any of the four children had the potential to become Soul Masters—

He did not ask.

Today was Awakening Day. The children who could not become Soul Masters were already upset enough. If he brought it up again, they would only feel worse.

Su Yuntao asked curiously, "Aren't you going to ask whether there were any Soul Master prospects?"

The village chief smiled bitterly. "Whether there are or not doesn't really matter. After all these years, I'm used to it. Grandmaster, you needn't comfort me."

Lu Fei immediately puffed up in anger. "Grandpa, what kind of talk is that? I, Lu Fei, will be Soulless Village's first Soul Master. In the future, I will surely reach the rank of Soul Douluo, and the village's name will change because of me."

The village chief was stunned at first, then rolled his eyes. "Stop fooling around. The Grandmaster is still here. Aren't you just making a joke of yourself?"

In his view, Lu Fei was merely trying to comfort him.

Lu Fei said unhappily, "I'm not fooling around. Not only can I become a Soul Master, Brother Yu can too. If you don't believe me, ask Grandmaster Su Yuntao."

The village chief looked toward Su Yuntao in confusion.

Su Yuntao smiled and nodded.

The village chief was instantly dumbfounded.

He had never dreamed that their village would actually produce Soul Masters—and two at once.

The village chief immediately burst into laughter. "Hahaha... Good, wonderful! Heaven has truly opened its eyes. Let's see who still dares look down on our village now."

Hearing that, Lu Yu could only smile bitterly.

Those who knew would understand that two Soul Master prospects had appeared. Those who did not might think that two Title Douluo had emerged. Was there really any need to be so excited?

Still, he understood the village chief's feelings.

It was like having a child finally get into university—and not just any university, but Tsinghua University or Peking University. A little excitement was understandable.

Su Yuntao finished writing the certificates and handed them to the village chief. "These are the certificates for the two children. I still need to hurry to other villages, so I won't stay any longer."

The village chief accepted the certificates and offered another round of heartfelt thanks.

Only after Su Yuntao left did the village chief lead Lu Yu and Lu Fei home, saying that he would have Lu Fei's mother prepare a feast so they could celebrate properly.

Naturally, Lu Yu had no objections.

Taking advantage of the free time, Lu Yu focused all his attention on the system inventory.

[Heaven Origin Technique: A cultivation technique that cultivates law, body, and spirit. By practicing it, one can simultaneously cultivate the physique, Soul Power, and spiritual power.]

After reading the technique's description, Lu Yu's heart immediately began pounding with excitement. As a Douluo fan, he understood all too well how valuable this technique was.

A Soul Master's potential did not depend solely on talent. Soul ring configuration also played a role, while the maximum age of soul rings a Soul Master could withstand was linked to physique and spiritual power.

A powerful physique could effectively resist the impact of Soul Power, while spiritual power could withstand tremors of the soul.

Lu Yu only needed to keep breaking through the age limit of the soul rings he could endure, and his talent would naturally improve little by little.

Perhaps the improvement would not be too dramatic.

But weren't there still immortal herbs?

If he came to Douluo and did not make plans for those immortal herbs, would he even deserve to call himself a transmigrator?

Sure enough, the system was still reliable.

With this Heaven Origin Technique, he might not be unable to contend with Tang San in the future.

And this was only the beginning.

After closing the system panel, Lu Yu unconsciously became more confident.

Looking at the wildly excited Lu Fei beside him, Lu Yu frowned. "Starting today, Xiao Fei, you're going to resume training with me."

"Huh?" Lu Fei was instantly dumbfounded.

Lu Yu said coldly, "What do you mean, 'huh'? Do you think becoming a Soul Master is that easy? Once a fight starts, you support-type Soul Masters will be the first ones targeted for death."

Lu Fei said unwillingly, "How do you know that?"

Lu Yu rolled his eyes. "Don't worry about how I know. It's decided. If you dare keep slacking off again, training for three days and resting for two, just see how I deal with you."

Lu Fei had trained with Lu Yu before, but because he could not endure the hardship, he had always trained sporadically and never accomplished much.

At the time, Lu Yu had not paid much attention to it.

After all, in his eyes, Lu Fei's fate in this life had been to grow up properly, marry a wife, and have children.

But things were different now.

Since Lu Fei could cultivate, and was even a support-type Soul Master who would inevitably be targeted at the start of every battle, Lu Yu had to make sure he trained properly.

The village chief said with a smile, "I think that's a good idea."

He knew Lu Yu well. Though he was young, his strength was far from weak. If they truly fought, even the adults in the village would be no match for him.

Since Xiao Fei was destined to become a Soul Master, it was necessary for him to improve his strength under Xiao Yu's guidance. After all, the Soul Master world was not so easy to survive in.

Though he was not a Soul Master, he had heard a thing or two about the cruelty of the Soul Master world. He did not want Xiao Fei to leave only to return shortly afterward as a cold corpse.

"Fine." Since even his grandfather agreed, Lu Fei had nothing else to say. He could only pout and mutter in resignation.

Heading to Notting Academy

When they returned home, Lu Fei's parents were overjoyed to learn that both boys had successfully awakened their Martial Souls. They immediately put aside their work and became busy in the kitchen.

At noon.

A table full of dishes was set out, even better than what they ate during festivals.

Throughout the meal, the village chief and the couple kept piling food onto Lu Yu and Lu Fei's bowls until they were heaped high, giving Lu Yu a headache.

They were feeding them like pigs.

Still, the feeling was rather nice.

Halfway through the meal, Lu Yu brought up his idea of having Lu Fei train with him starting that day. Lu Fei's parents agreed without a second thought.

Though Lu Yu was not their biological child, he was no different from one.

Moreover, Lu Yu had been sensible since childhood. If he wanted Xiao Fei to train with him, it was certainly for Xiao Fei's benefit. In any case, he would never harm him.

Lu Fei's father even said directly, "Xiao Yu, train him without worry. If he doesn't listen, hit him. If you can't bring yourself to do it, tell me. Then we'll see how I deal with him."